Misperceived Monotreme Part II
by VibeQuake
Summary: A sort of sequel to the PnF episode called Misperceived Monotreme, featuring the zoo platypus who accidentally defeated Doof by eating sandwiches.
1. Chapter 1

Aussie the Platypus was hungry. Standing on his little podium all day every day with only three meals a day was no life for him. And the meals weren't what he liked, either. He didn't like the mealworms they tried to feed him, but at least it was food. What he really craved was sandwiches.

Sandwiches? Why did he crave sandwiches so much? What even WAS a sandwich?

Bread. Butter. Cheese. Pickle. Sardine. Any kind of filling you wanted.

But how did Aussie, a platypus born and bred in zoos, know what a sandwich was?

Something didn't add up.

Flashes of memory were returning to him. A man on a screen. A flying chair. A German-accented man. An explosion. Sandwiches everywhere.

Where were these memories coming from? And why couldn't he remember what happened?

 _Maybe if I follow what I CAN remember, I'll be able to discover the full picture,_ he thought.

Then he smelled something. The most wonderful smell. He inhaled deeply, his mouth watering.

Then he stopped. He had smelt that smell before. What had he done last time? The logical thing. He followed the smell into a van.

As he munched the sandwich, he noticed that the truck's door had closed. Pretty soon, the van was moving. Aussie almost panicked, but he remembered that this had happened before, so he kept calm. He wondered where he was going.

After about ten minutes, the door opened again, and a couple of men came in. They took away a few boxes, so that was when Aussie decided to make his move. He darted out of the truck and over to the familiar-looking house. He sniffed around by the wall. Why could he smell sardines so strongly?

It was a memory, he realised. He was here a while ago, and…there was a strong-smelling sandwich.

He headed over to the wall and tapped it, causing a door to open in the side of the yellow wall.

 _I knew it. I remember this. The sandwich was down here!_

He hopped into the tunnel and slid down it, ending up in a large room that also looked familiar. He glanced up at the screen and his eyes widened. That was where he had seen the giant man with the monobrow.

And there, in front of the screen, was the flying chair. It wasn't flying right NOW, but he recognised it. It was definitely the chair that had flown him to that German guy's building.

Suddenly, someone tackled Aussie and sent him flying. Aussie let out a scream and struggled as he was pinned down by…

…a teal platypus who looked exactly like him!

Except this one was wearing a brown hat. A brown hat that looked exactly like the one Aussie had found on himself after getting back to the zoo.

"How did you get in here?" the platypus demanded. "Who are you?"

Aussie raised his hands defensively. "M-My name is Aussie. I came down a tube."

"How'd you know where to find it?" The platypus narrowed his eyes.

"I-I've been here before," stammered Aussie. "I came down here by accident; I'm a zoo platypus."

The platypus's eyes widened. "Wait…you've come down here before?"

Aussie nodded nervously. "Y-Yeah. A few weeks ago, I think. I was a bit more mindless then. I think I fought a guy in a white coat and a high-pitched voice, but I don't entirely remember."

The platypus's eyes widened even more. "YOU!"

Aussie flinched. "What…?"

"YOU're the one who fought Doof while I was at that pet wash!" The platypus slapped his forehead. "That was my hundredth battle with Doof, and you're the one who actually participated in it!"

Aussie blinked. "I have no idea what you're on about."

"I saw the footage." The platypus grinned and got off Aussie, then helped him up. "I'm Perry."

Aussie was about to introduce himself, when he realised he had already done that.

"I know you were motivated by sandwiches, but you were surprisingly capable for a zoo platypus," Perry said. "I work for an organisation called O.W.C.A.: the Organisation Without a Cool Acronym."

"That IS an uncool acronym," commented Aussie.

Perry laughed. "Surprisingly, everyone I tell that says the same thing. Anyway, would you like to work for the agency?"

Aussie blinked. "The agency? You mean…the O.W.C.A.?"

Perry nodded sincerely. "You managed to defeat Doof _unintentionally_. That's an amazing feat. We could use you for O.W.C.A.. Unless you want to go back to the zoo, that's fine too."

Aussie hesitated, thinking. "What's the food like here?"

Perry grinned. "Really good. There're three meals a day but you can eat however much you want."

Aussie hesitated again, considering that. Fighting evil seemed a bit scary, but it also sounded really interesting. His life at the zoo was incredibly boring. Plus the food was terrible. "What would I need to do?" he asked.

Perry grinned. "Train. I'll train you a bit more, then you'll get your own home and your own nemesis."

"H-Home?" Aussie blinked. "A-An owner, you mean?"

Perry nodded. "I have the Flynn-Fletcher family as my host family. It's where you'll live while you're an agent."

"I-I won't have to live at the zoo?" Aussie gasped.

"Not if you don't want to."

Aussie slowly beamed. "Sign me up."

Perry's face turned serious. "Look, I know there are perks of the job, like meals and a family, but at the end of the day, what really matters is fighting evil, okay? If you have to choose between yourself or others, you must always choose others. Got it?"

Aussie nodded slowly. "I think so. Protect and serve, right?"

"That's DPD's motto, but that's basically the gist of it." Perry smiled. "So what do you say? Wanna become an O.W.C.A. agent?" He held out his paw.

Aussie grinned. "You bet."

He shook the paw.

…

 **So, yeah! XD This was recommended to me by Mythicalnightguard: a great friend of mine. It's just a oneshot at the moment, but if you'd like to see Aussie's training and him becoming an actual O.W.C.A. agent, then leave a review and tell me to continue XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I decided to carry on. Yay! XD**

…

Perry smiled at Aussie. "Well, first things first, we need to make sure that Major Monogram is okay with this."

Aussie frowned. "Major Monogram?"

"The leader of the agency," explained Perry.

"Wait…does he have a moustache and a monobrow?" Aussie asked. "And grey hair?"

Perry nodded. "You probably saw him when you came in here last time. He gives out everyone's missions. Was he on that screen?" He pointed up at the screen on the wall.

Aussie nodded. "Yeah he was."

"That's him."

"He seemed scary."

"Heh, I suppose he is a little," chuckled Perry. "But don't worry, he's only scary to newbies. Once you spend more time under his leadership, he won't seem so bad."

"If you say so." Aussie hesitated. "Is O.W.C.A. a big organisation?"

Perry shrugged. "Not really, but there are different divisions within the organisation. This is Major Monogram's division, which has about thirty agents or so. Admiral Acronym's division is a little smaller. Those are the only two divisions I know about."

Aussie was trying to wrap his head around the information. "Okay…"

Perry grinned. "But you don't need to know everything at the moment. All you need to know is that Major Monogram is in charge, Carl is the person to go to if you need absolutely anything, Apollo is the best doctor you will ever find on the planet, and I am O.W.C.A.'s top agent."

Aussie blinked. "You are?"

"Yep." Perry grinned. "I don't normally bring it up, but I just want you to know, since you're new here."

"Okay…" Aussie nodded, frowning. "I think I got it."

"Then let's take you to meet Major Monogram."

…

"Wait…" Major Monogram's eyes were nearly three times their normal size, as his stare flickered from Perry to a nervous Aussie, who was standing in the corner. "Your hundredth battle with Doofenshmirtz… That…WASN'T you?!"

Perry groaned and pinched the bridge of his beak. "That's what I've been telling you for the last six weeks, sir. I was at a pet wash with Candace Flynn."

"So…" Major Monogram hesitated, his gaze flickering to Aussie, who flinched. "It was THIS platypus?"

"Yes, sir."

"This zoo platypus."

"Yes, sir."

"Who defeated Doofenshmirtz."

"Yes, sir."

"During supposedly your hundredth battle."

"Yes, sir."

"With the sandwiches and the brick wall and the-."

"-and the "Singapore Crab" move, yes, sir!" Perry snapped, getting more than a little irritated now. "The point is that Aussie here defeated Doof without any prior training at all."

Major Monogram hummed in thought. "I know Carl and I aren't the most observant people in the world, but we really thought it was you, Agent P."

"Believe me, I know," groaned Perry. "But anyway, I want permission to train Aussie to be an O.W.C.A. agent." As Major Monogram opened his mouth to say something, Perry hurriedly added, "Sir, I think we can use him. Like I said, he defeated Doof with absolutely no preparation or training at all. With work, I really think he can be an agent O.W.C.A. can be proud of."

Aussie bit the inside of his beak, half of him touched as such praise, but mostly, he was scared of letting Perry down.

Major Monogram nodded. "I agree, Agent P. I give you permission to train him. When you feel he's ready, come to me, and Carl and I will carry out an assessment of his skills. If we think he's good enough, we'll make him an agent." Major Monogram turned to Aussie. "Did you hear that?"

Aussie jumped. "Y-Yes, sir!"

"Is that fair?"

"Yes, sir!"

"You don't need to say—or yell—that every time you speak to me."

"Okay…" Aussie hung his head.

Major Monogram hummed in thought. "You have a long way to go, but I can see you'll make a fine agent. Both of you are dismissed."

Perry took Aussie's wrist and pulled him out of the office. As soon as the door closed behind them, Aussie let out an elongated breath and collapsed against the wall. "That man…is terrifying."

Perry burst out laughing. "Don't worry, he gets better."

"Excuse me," came a voice.

Perry and Aussie both turned to see a female porcupine standing there, holding a clipboard with several sheets of paper attached to it. She was wearing a light yellow blazer with three pockets on the outside and two on the inside.

Aussie thought she was beautiful; he couldn't stop staring at her. She shot the two of them a small smile. "I need to go in there."

With a start Aussie realised he was blocking the door. But instead of moving, as he should have done, he instead blurted out, "I'm Aussie."

The porcupine grinned. "You do sound like you're from Australia."

"N-No, my NAME is Aussie." Aussie inwardly groaned at the lousy first impression he was making. "But I AM from Australia: a zoo in Canberra."

"Oh." The porcupine giggled. "I'm Nyx. It means night."

"H-Hi, Nyx."

Perry grinned. "We didn't mean to get in your way, Nyx. Please don't slam that clipboard into my face."

Nyx gave Perry a scathing look. "Shut up."

"What…?" Aussie blinked.

"Can I tell him the story of the Annoying Armadillo?"

Nyx glared at him and lifted her clipboard menacingly. "Do that, and this clipboard will allow you to discover many uncomfortable and painful places you never knew you had. Got it?"

Perry smirked and saluted her. "Got it, Miss Peaceful Porcupine."

"Stop using alliteration."

"No."

Nyx grabbed a thumbtack from her blazer pocket and threatened Perry with it. "Shut up. Right now."

Perry pretended to zip his beak shut.

"Good decision." She put the thumbtack away and smiled at Aussie, who was absolutely terrified. "Nice to meet you, Aussie. See you later."

She gently moved Aussie out of the way of the door and went into the office.

As soon as the door closed, Aussie dived under one of the chairs outside the office. Perry looked down at him in amusement. "Just because you've got a crush on her, doesn't mean you need to hide from it."

"I don't want to crush her!" Aussie looked shocked.

Perry snorted. "I mean you like her. You want her to be your girlfriend."

"Oh. Is that what having a "crush" means?"

Perry nodded. "So you're not denying it?"

Aussie shook his head. "Why would I deny it? It's true. I do like Nyx. She's beautiful."

"She's a new agent, I think," Perry said. "Only finished her training a couple of months ago."

Aussie sighed wistfully. "Do you think she'd be willing to train me?"

Perry laughed. "Thanks a lot."

"I mean as well as you."

Perry shrugged. "Why don't you ask her? It could be a date."

"Date?" Aussie frowned.

Perry sighed. "So not only do I have to train you, I have to teach you about the world?"

Aussie just blinked.

"Well, then…" Perry grinned. "I had better get started."

…

 **If anyone's having trouble picturing Nyx, imagine her looking like Ash from the animated movie Sing. If you don't know what Ash looks like, look up "Sing Ash" on google images, and it'll come up.**


	3. Chapter 3

After the tour of O.W.C.A. HQ, Perry took Aussie to the cafeteria. Just as they got to the doors, Perry stopped dead, causing Aussie to crash into him. "W-What is it?" Aussie asked nervously.

Perry turned to look at him. "People might confuse the two of us," he said. "I've just realised. We need to make you look different somehow."

Aussie frowned. "Different?"

Perry stared hard at him. "We DO have different eye colours," he said eventually. "But that might not be enough. Ohh, hold on!"

He trotted into the office room nearby, leaving Aussie standing awkwardly in the corridor. A bulldog agent passing by gave him a glare as he entered the cafeteria. Aussie assumed it was Perry that the bulldog didn't like; Aussie couldn't possible have done something to him in the couple of hours he'd been here.

A minute later, Perry came back out with a red scarf. "This has been in lost property for years," he explained, showing it to Aussie. "I remember seeing it last time I was in there. I think it'll suit you."

Aussie hesitantly took the scarf, feeling the woollen material in his paws. He glanced up at Perry, who pointed to his own neck. Aussie slowly wound the scarf around his neck a few times, then fiddled with it until it was in a comfortable position. He glanced back up at Perry and struck an awkward pose. "How…How do I look?"

Perry stroked the underside of his beak thoughtfully. "Epic, but like you also need a tattoo."

Aussie's skin crawled at the word 'tattoo', but at the same time, the thought thrilled him. He knew what a tattoo was; an agent passing earlier had had one, and Perry had explained how to get one. Aussie feared pain, but he figured that, if he got through the pain of having a tattoo, he'd be ready to deal with any kind of pain he'd experience out in the field.

"Okay," Aussie said slowly, nodding. "I can give it a go."

"Any thought as to what kind of picture you'd like?"

Perry tugged on Aussie's paw gently and led the platypus into the cafeteria as the latter thought hard. For some reason, the only picture in his mind was Nyx's face. But having someone's face tattooed on you would be weird enough if you were DATING, let alone barely even friends.

But wait…what had she said about her name?

 _"_ _I'm Nyx. It means night."_

"I want a crescent moon and a star," blurted out Aussie.

Perry glanced at him. "Really? So where would you want it?"

Aussie paused for a moment, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Here," he said eventually, pointing to his left shoulder. "That won't be as painful, right?"

"Not as painful as your foot or your knee," Perry replied, shrugging. "It won't make it pain-FREE, though."

"I wasn't expecting it to."

"Hey, Perry!" called a chirpy female voice.

Aussie turned to see a table with a tortoiseshell cat, a white rabbit, a royal blue platypus, and Nyx the Porcupine sitting at it. The cat was the one who had called. Aussie could tell because she was the only one looking over at him and Perry, and her paw was in the air. "Perry!" she called again.

Perry also turned and caught sight of the table. Smirking, he turned to Aussie. "By the way, all my friends are girls."

Aussie tried a smirk back. "Why's that a bad thing?"

Perry kept up his smirk as he headed over to the table. "Hey, guys. I've got a new friend I want to introduce to you."

He beckoned Aussie over. The former zoo platypus nervously approached the table and smiled awkwardly. "H-Hi. I'm Aussie."

"Hey, Aussie," Nyx said, flashing a smile. "I like the scarf."

"Th-Thanks…"

"Hey, you look exactly like Perry," the rabbit observed. "I'm Jackie."

"I'm Melinda," the cat added, smiling in such a friendly way that Aussie felt a warm glow inside him.

"And I'm Sapphire," the platypus said, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Whatcha readin', Sapph?" Perry asked, leaning on the table.

Sapphire didn't respond at all.

This seemed to throw Perry off. He hesitated, then asked, "Is it that same adventure book as before?"

"Mm," was the muttered reply he got.

Perry awkwardly straightened up and nudged Aussie. "Let's go get some food," he said, looking down at the ground.

Aussie also looked down at the ground. Perry was staring so intensely at it that Aussie thought he must be looking at something in particular. But there was nothing there. Aussie frowned as he followed Perry to the serving hatch.

"Are you okay?" he asked slowly. "You suddenly changed."

Perry sighed and glanced back at the table. "Yeah. It's just…things are a little awkward between us at the moment."

"Why?" inquired Aussie curiously.

"Well…I recently imprisoned Jackie's mate for being a traitor, Melinda and I dated for a year but broke up recently, Sapphire and Nyx currently hate each other, and I have a massive crush on Sapphire but her mate recently died and I feel horrible for taking advantage of that."

Aussie blinked, trying to process this sudden influx of information. "Right…so…you don't want to ask Sapphire out because she's only recently lost the guy she loved?"

Perry sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It was only a month and a half ago that he died in a fire."

Aussie shuddered, a sudden stab of terror in his heart. He wondered why the word 'fire' had made him feel so scared all of a sudden.

"Aus, you've gone pale…" Perry worriedly grasped Aussie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

 _"_ _AUSSIE!"_ screamed a female voice.

Aussie leapt a foot in the air, feeling sweat pouring down his face and body. His entire body felt hot, as if he was standing next to a fire. His eyes stung, his throat hurt, and he felt like he was about to pass out.

The same voice screamed his name again. It wasn't a voice he recognised, but at the same time, he felt a desperate need to hear the voice again.

Just a second after he heard his name being screamed again, this time by both a female AND an unfamiliar male voice, his vision went black and he felt himself hit the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Aussie could hear someone calling his name, very faintly. He forced himself to open his eyes, and the face of a teal platypus swum into view. For some reason, even though Aussie knew it was Perry, he croaked out, "M-M-Mom…?"

Luckily for him, Perry pretended he hadn't heard that. "Aussie, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Aussie had come to his senses by now. Coughing as if his lungs were burning, he managed to choke, "Y-Yeah. I-I'm okay."

Looking round, he didn't recognise where they were. He inhaled and exhaled a few times. "Where…?"

"The kitchen," Perry replied, anticipating his doppelgänger's question. "After you collapsed, I quickly brought you in here so you wouldn't get people staring at you."

Aussie coughed a few more times, before croaking, "Th-Thanks. I d-don't like attention at the b-best of t-times."

Perry helped Aussie sit up and waited patiently while the younger platypus recovered.

"What happened, Aus?" he asked softly. "You looked like you were having a waking nightmare."

Aussie was trembling at the memory of what he had experienced. "I…I f-FELT like I was having a waking n-nightmare. W-When you said…" He trailed off.

He did NOT want to start his potential career at O.W.C.A. like this. DEFINITELY not. If he let on that anything was wrong, he would be dooming himself to always be seen as "Perry's weak doppelgänger". He definitely didn't want THAT, either. If he was going to be an O.W.C.A. agent, he was going to be an O.W.C.A. agent in his own right.

"Aussie?" Perry prompted gently.

"Nothing," Aussie replied firmly, pushing himself to his feet. "I'm fine."

"Aussie, you don't need to put on a brave face." Perry placed his paw on Aussie's shoulder. "You don't-."

"I said I'm fine," Aussie interrupted him. "I want to go to the gym."

Perry doubted that Aussie was really as okay as he seemed, but he decided not to press the issue. No good would come of that. "Okay, well, I think it's occupied for now. But after lunch, everyone's either on missions, at their desks, or at home, so it'll be empty then."

Aussie nodded. "That sounds good. Will it just be the two of us?"

Perry glanced at his watch. "Oh, actually…I have another trainee joining me. An honorary trainee, really. I've been asked to train her up for the next month."

"Just the three of us, then?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Good." Aussie exhaled and turned away, taking a few steps away from Perry so that his doppelgänger couldn't see how much he was still trembling. "How long is there left of lunch?"

Of course Perry could see Aussie shaking. He'd be blind not to. But if Aussie was trying his hardest to convince Perry that he was fine, then Perry wasn't going to challenge him. Keeping an eye on his doppelgänger, Perry checked his watch again. "About half an hour. Enough time to get some food, if you're still up for it."

Aussie nodded again. "Yeah, I'm hungry."

After getting some food, they went and sat down at the table. Melinda and Jackie had left, leaving just Sapphire and Nyx behind. The former was still slowly eating a clearly cold grilled cheese sandwich, but the latter had already finished eating whatever she had. She smiled as Aussie sat back down. "Hey! Where'd you guys go?"

"Nowhere," mumbled Aussie, staring down into his bowl of soup, only now wondering why he had even chosen soup in the first place. He didn't even like soup. Or did he? He'd never tried it before…

 _Great, now my thoughts are a MESS_ , he thought angrily in his head.

Nyx sidled along the bench until she was right next to Aussie. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Aussie replied sullenly.

As Nyx recoiled, Aussie became even angrier at himself. _YOU MORON. SHE'S ACTUALLY BEING NICE TO YOU AND TRYING TO HELP YOU. AND YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A…A…_

Aussie couldn't even think of a strong enough word to describe the way he was acting.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered quickly. "I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed. It's all drastically different to what I'm used to."

Nyx's face changed to a curious expression. "Yeah, you said you were from a zoo, right? I guess it IS pretty different. I think you're doing okay so far, though. I'm digging the scarf."

Aussie smiled shyly. "Th-Thanks." At Perry's encouragement, he added, "I also want to get a tattoo."

"Oh, really?" Nyx's entire face lit up. "I'm an artist; I can do one for you!"

Aussie's head immediately snapped round to stare at Perry, who was grinning into his lunch. Perry was the one who had suggested a tattoo… Had he known that Nyx was a tattoo artist?"

"G-G-Great!" Aussie attempted a grin. "D-Does it hurt?"

Nyx grimaced. "Yeah, it does; I'm not gonna lie. But it's worth it. Wanna see my tattoo?"

Aussie's eyes widened. "You have a tattoo?!"

Nyx nodded and turned her back to Aussie, holding her quills out of the way. Aussie gasped in awe when he saw it.

The tattoo was a pair of wings, drawn in white ink. They looked like angel wings. They arced and curved beautifully, as if they were getting ready to carry Nyx off into the skies.

"Th-That's…b-b-beautiful!"

In his head, he sighed again. _Can you say ONE thing without stammering, idiot?_

Nyx smiled as she turned back round to face Aussie. "I got it to remember my twin brother," she told him quietly. "He died two years ago of an infection."

"Oh…I'm so sorry…" Aussie was aware of how hollow that sounded, but he really couldn't think of anything else to say.

Nyx shrugged helplessly. "It did hurt, but…he's in a better place now. I got this tattoo to remind myself that he's in heaven, watching over me as my guardian angel. And he is: a couple of months ago, I was caught in a bomb blast and actually died. But Apollo managed to bring me back. He said it was a miracle. That's how I know Aion is watching over me."

Aussie managed a smile. "That's a lovely story, Nyx. I'm glad you were able to turn such a tragic event into something positive."

Nyx smiled back, then reached out and took Aussie's paw. "Thank you. So if you were to get a tattoo, what would it be?"

Aussie hesitated. He wanted to tell her what he had told Perry—a crescent moon and a star—but Nyx might deduce too soon what his intentions were. He didn't want her knowing that he liked her in that way. It was just too awkward at the moment.

Luckily, Perry came to his rescue. "Come on, Aussie. Lunch is finishing soon, and we need to get to the gym."

Both relieved and disappointed, Aussie let go of Nyx's paw and stood up. "See y-you later, m-maybe?" he asked her shyly.

Nyx grinned. "Definitely tomorrow, if not later."

Aussie was blushing so much by that point that Perry actually had to drag him out of the cafeteria by his wrist. "Smooth, Romeo. Real smooth."

Aussie blinked in confusion. "My name is Aussie. You know that, right?"

Perry snorted. "Trust me, I know."


	5. Chapter 5

"I should give you a warning about my friend," Perry said. "She's a little loud and excitable, but she's really friendly."

"Is she...human?" Aussie asked hesitantly.

Perry nodded. "I only met her yesterday but I can tell she'll make a fine O.W.C.A. agent one day. As will you."

Aussie smiled briefly, then he caught sight of a small girl coming through the doorway. She looked to be about eleven or twelve, and she was dressed like an explorer from the '20s, complete with a hat that looked similar to Perry's. She seemed to be looking from Perry to Aussie, a little confused.

Aussie stared at Perry with nervousness as the platypus seemed to realise how this looked. "I can explain."

"You have an identical twin?" the girl asked, a sort-of scary grin on her face.

Perry shook his head. "He's just my doppelgänger."

"What…does that mean?"

"It just means we look exactly alike," Perry explained. "It can be used to explain identical twins, but it's mostly used to describe people who aren't related but look alike."

"Ohh." The girl turned her smile on Aussie. "Hi, I'm Melody Flynn."

Aussie had never been more uncomfortable in his life. He had always felt scared around new people, but especially kids. He remembered an incident in the zoo a year ago where a child had climbed into his enclosure and grabbed him and squeezed him and hadn't let him go until a zookeeper managed to bribe her with candy. Even though Melody looked to be twice as old as that kid, he still felt very wary around them. "I'm Aussie."

"Are you an agent?" Melody asked.

"No, no I'm not. I just joined today, so Perry volunteered to train me. I guess I'm just a trainee."

"There's nothing "just" about being a trainee," Perry said, patting Aussie on the shoulder. "Without trainees, we wouldn't have agents."

"That's true," Melody agreed, beaming. "So are we going to train together?"

"Yeah. I have to apologise to both of you. I had forgotten that we had a training session now, Melody, so I told Aussie that we could train now."

"Oh, that's okay!" Melody shuffled her feet excitedly. "It'll be easier to train now that there're two of us to spar against each other."

 _Uh oh…_ Aussie instantly felt nervous. He took a step back. "P-Please go easy on me."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'm as much of a beginner as you."

This made Aussie feel worse. "Please don't laugh at me," he said quietly, hanging his head.

He was being extremely pathetic, and he knew it. But he couldn't help it. Being attacked by that kid had been a traumatising experience for him, and now that he was faced with another kid, he could feel the fear coming rushing back.

"Am I being too loud?" Melody asked warily.

To his intense embarrassment, Aussie couldn't think of a suitable answer, so he just carried on staring at her, hoping something would come to him. Luckily, Perry came to his rescue. "Aussie's lived in a zoo his whole life," he explained to Melody. "He hasn't had much direct contact with humans or other animals outside of the visitors to the zoo who view him and the zookeepers who feed and bathe him."

"Ohh. Sorry. I tend to be a little overbearing."

Aussie couldn't allow Melody to take the blame for his behaviour. If it had been anyone else in her place, he would be reacting the same way. "No. No, it's me. My whole life has changed so much in the last few hours that my brain is still catching up." He managed a grin. "Not that I was particularly confident even BEFORE I came here."

"We can work on that," Perry said. "Okay, you two, let's get started. We'll start with a warmup. Run three laps around the gym."

As Melody took off, Aussie sidled closer to Perry. "She's loud. I'm scared of her."

Perry shot him a look. "Give her a chance. She may be a little loud, but she's not dangerous. She's excitable and eager and really friendly."

Aussie paused. "I don't like kids."

Perry raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Reluctantly, Aussie briefly told him the story of the incident at the zoo. "That's why."

Perry sighed. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Aus, but Melody wouldn't do that. And if, IF, she ever tried to, I would stop her. You know that, right?"

Aussie nodded slowly. "O-Okay."

"Good. Go and begin your laps, then."

Aussie reluctantly began jogging around the gym. Melody was clearly quicker than him; she passed him twice and was finished all her laps by the time Aussie had completed two. As he ran, he watched her cautiously. She was now doing starjumps next to Perry as she waited for Aussie to finish. She didn't SEEM like the kind of kid to grab an innocent animal and squeeze it ferociously, but Aussie didn't know her very well. He couldn't help wondering how well PERRY really knew her.

When he finally finished, Perry said, "Right, let's work on some basic fighting moves. I want you two to face each other and do the move I show you."

Aussie nervously watched as Melody stepped in front of him.

"Melody, when I say go, I want you to aim a kick at Aussie, like this." Perry kicked his leg up as if he was trying to kick someone in the groin area. "But slowly, with no force behind it. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Aussie, when she does that, I want you to bring your arm down like this and block the blow." Perry stood sideways and made a movement downwards as if he was karate-chopping an invisible enemy. "Can you do that?"

Aussie almost said no. He was more than a little scared; after all, Melody could beat him easily.

But that was when he had an epiphany: Melody was about the same size as some of the larger O.W.C.A. agents. If he trained with her, he would learn how to fight the larger agents of O.W.C.A., and therefore he would be more confident around them. Much of Aussie's fear was coming from the fact that he couldn't defend himself. If he COULD, he'd be a lot braver.

Besides, as he had realised before, he didn't want to be known as "Perry's weak doppelganger". If he couldn't even ATTEMPT to fight against a little girl who was only one and a half times his height, how could he possibly hope to fight full-grown adults?

So he nodded firmly, feeling confidence surge through his body. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Good," Perry said. "Okay: go."

Aussie readied himself, and it was lucky he did; Melody clearly forgot what Perry just told her and full-on went for it in her kick. As his arm reacted almost of its own accord, Aussie almost screamed, but he forced himself to stay silent. He karate-chopped Melody's foot so hard that she fell forwards onto her face, causing Aussie to leap back to avoid being hit.

"Melody, are you alright?" Perry asked.

Melody didn't seem to be angry, In fact, she was laughing. "Sorry, that was my fault. For some reason, as soon as you said go, I immediately forgot that I wasn't supposed to use any force. Aussie, you okay?"

The tiny rush of adrenaline that had caused Aussie to react that way was beginning to wear off, but he nodded.

"You've got good reflexes, Aussie," Perry praised him. "Well done for the way you reacted."

Aussie dropped his gaze to the floor. He had never been praised before. It felt nice, but at the same time, he wasn't sure he deserved it. He had just reacted without thinking. Was that praise-worthy?

Suddenly, he heard Melody's voice ask, "Ready to try again, Aussie?"

Aussie looked up and nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

...

 **If you would like to know more about Melody, check out my other story 'Melody Flynn and the OWCA'.**


	6. Chapter 6

Aussie sighed heavily, looking out at the setting sun. Perry had been working with him and Melody for several hours, but Aussie still had not grasped the techniques he was being taught. There was just something about the way Perry was explaining them that Aussie was struggling to understand. It was troubling him greatly; Perry was supposed to be his trainer, and if Aussie couldn't even understand his teachings, how was he supposed to become even a GOOD O.W.C.A. agent?

"We get some gorgeous sunsets and sunrises here," came a voice from behind him.

Aussie didn't even need to turn to see who it was: a little embarrassingly, he could already recognise her voice. "Hey, Nyx."

The black porcupine sat down on the grass next to him, so close that he could feel a few of her spines touching his side. "How did training go?"

The platypus let out a long sigh, before drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. "I'd love to say that I'm learning a lot, but that's exactly the problem: Perry's an extremely skilled agent, but I'm having trouble learning the moves he's trying to teach me. I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm struggling to understand him."

Nyx thought about that for a while. "It's not because of any language barrier, right?"

"Not really, no. I mean, I still have a lot to learn about the world and all the words in it, but in this case, I think it's more because of the way he's teaching me." Aussie paused for a second, then quickly shook his head. "Actually, no. It's not him, it's me. It can't be him; he's O.W.C.A.'s best agent. If I'm not understanding what he's showing me, then that must be on me."

"Actually, being O.W.C.A.'s best agent doesn't necessarily mean he's the best at everything," Nyx said. "You could be the most skilled agent in the world, but it means nothing if you don't have the communication skills to properly transfer your knowledge to someone else."

Aussie cocked his head. "What?"

The porcupine glanced at him. "Oh, sorry, did you not understand me?"

After a brief hesitation, Aussie looked away. "Sorry."

Nyx chuckled and patted his back. "Don't apologise, Aussie. For what it's worth, I'm really proud of you."

This made Aussie look sharply back at her in shock. "What?"

"I grew up in a zoo too," Nyx explained. "I got here a few years ago and I was _terrified._ I spent about four months just getting used to this brand new world. I didn't begin training until at least five week after I first arrived here. You started the _day_ you arrived. You're really throwing yourself into life here, and I admire that."

Aussie stared down at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at Nyx. "What zoo did you come from?"

"I was born in a small country zoo in Texas," Nyx replied. "My parents had both been transferred there from South Africa. A few years ago, the three of us were brought to Danville Zoo, but I never arrived; my parents helped me escape in transit."

"Really?" Aussie's eyes widened. "Why?"

"They said they wanted me to have the life that was taken away from them. They never got to live out their years and die in freedom out in the wild, so they sacrificed their relationship with me in order to give me that life." Nyx paused, staring out at the darkening sky. "Maybe this makes me a horrible person, but I don't regret leaving. I do love my parents and I'm sure I would have been happy at Danville Zoo if I had never experienced freedom, but they loved me more, and they didn't want me to suffer the way they did."

"Do you like your life at O.W.C.A.?" asked Aussie.

"Absolutely," Nyx answered immediately. "I love fighting evil, I love the freedom, I love my friends. A life at O.W.C.A. is a very fulfilling one."

Aussie slowly turned his eyes away from Nyx and also stared out at the sky. "I needed to hear that. Thank you, Nyx."

"Anytime, Aussie."

As the two animals watched the last rays of the sun disappear, Aussie happened to glance down and caught sight of Nyx's paw right next to his. A million thoughts and emotions raced through his head in the span of a few seconds, but before he could stop himself, he lifted his paw and placed it on hers. She immediately turned sharply to look at him, causing him to flinch and lift his paw back up. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't-."

He broke off as Nyx reached out and took his hand, smiling shyly. "I've never held hands with a boy before."

"I've n-never held hands with _anyone_ b-before," Aussie stammered, certain that Nyx could see the blush on his cheeks, despite the low lighting.

"I hold hands with Jackie and Melinda all the time," Nyx chuckled. "We used to have this, like, little girl gang where we skipped all over the building while holding hands and singing the O.W.C.A. Files theme song in various-pitched harmonies. Most people found us really annoying."

"I could never find you annoying," Aussie blurted out.

Nyx turned away, but Aussie could see a blush creeping up HER cheeks. It made him feel slightly less awkward to know that she was just as shy as he was. "It's getting late," she said after a moment. "Do you have somewhere to sleep?"

Aussie was still staring down at his paw that was holding Nyx's. "I...I don't think so."

Nyx slowly rose to her feet, letting go of Aussie's hand in the process. "Let's go get you a room, then."

But as they went back into the building, they were met by Perry, whose worried face changed when he spotted the two. "Aussie, there you are! I was worried about you; you disappeared so quickly after training."

Nyx raised an eyebrow at Aussie, who chuckled sheepishly. "Did you not even tell Perry where you were going?"

"That girl was freaking me out," Aussie mumbled.

"Melody?" Perry stared at Aussie for a moment, before sighing tiredly. "Fine, I won't ask you to train with her again."

That just made Aussie feel worse. "I...I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Nyx said immediately, giving Perry a stern look. "Do you want me to train with you tomorrow instead?"

Aussie glanced up at Perry, who gave a shrug and a nod. "That's fine with me," he said.

"Yes please," Aussie said to Nyx, who smiled broadly.

"I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast, then. Goodnight, Aussie."

"Goodnight," Aussie said, watching reluctantly as Nyx began walking off. He didn't look away until she had turned a corner, at which point he turned back to Perry and yawned when he opened his beak to say something. "I'm tired."

"Lucky for you, I got a room sorted for you just after training," Perry chuckled. "I'll take you up there now."

Aussie tiredly followed Perry through the building, up some stairs, and into another hallway, this one lined with some kind of soft material.

"What is this?" he asked, dropping to all fours to inspect the plush material.

"That's called a carpet," replied Perry amusedly. "Will you need me to teach you how to use the bed?"

"Will it be different from the zoo?"

"Absolutely."

Aussie groaned. "Then yes…"

Still chuckling, Perry led Aussie down the corridor, stopping in front of a door with the number 12 on it. "This will be your room." He handed Aussie a small plastic card, then guided it to the slot above the door handle. "You insert this card into this hole, and that will unlock the door for you. Keep this key on you at all times, okay?"

Aussie nodded. "Right."

He opened the door and looked into the room. It was small and dark, with a window directly opposite the door, a weird-looking bed to the side, some shelves next to the door, and another door off to the left. "This leads to the bathroom," Perry explained.

Aussie nodded; Perry had already taught him how the "toilet" thing worked.

"And that's your bed," added Perry, pointing to the thing in the corner.

Aussie slowly headed over to it, before climbing onto it. Perry showed him how to untuck the covers so that he could get underneath them. It was an odd feeling to be surrounded by so much soft fabric, but at the same time, it was comforting. Aussie snuggled down underneath the covers and rested his head on the pillow.

"Goodnight, Aussie," Perry said, chuckling quietly to himself as he headed back over to the door.

"Goodnight," Aussie called sleepily back.

Perry smiled, before turning out the light and leaving the room.

Aussie was asleep before the door even closed.


	7. Chapter 7

_Aussie was in a forest. There were trees all around him. The air around him was hot. He could hear a crackling noise. He could see only red and orange surrounding the trees._

" _AUSSIE!" A female teal platypus was running towards him, her face the picture of terror._

" _Mama!" Aussie heard his own voice scream, sounding younger and more like a baby's._

 _But the platypus never reached him. Just as she got close, a wall of fire sprang up between them, blocking her from him. Aussie screamed again as the fire got nearer, hearing the female platypus's own screams from somewhere in the haze._

 _Then the fire closed around him._

 _And then he fell._

…

Aussie woke with a start as he hit the floor. It took him a good few minutes to remember where he was, but when he had, he realised that he had fallen out of the bed. He was tangled in the blankets, which had fallen with him.

The faint glow of early morning sunlight was visible through the curtains over his window, telling him that at least he didn't have to go back to sleep. He grabbed the blankets in a tight hug and buried his face in them, his face and body soaked with sweat. His heart was pounding and he could barely breathe.

"What happened to me?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "Was that just a nightmare…? Or was it...a memory…?"

As he slowly climbed to his feet, he remembered that this wasn't the first time he had experienced something like this. Yesterday in the cafeteria, he had fainted after Perry mentioned the word "fire". The female voice he had heard screaming his name was the exact same voice that belonged to the platypus he had seen in his nightmare.

It must have been a memory. Even though Aussie didn't remember who the platypus was or what had happened or where they had been, he knew that it must have happened in real life.

Aussie stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. In the small room was a fancy-looking bathtub; Aussie had had baths at the zoo before so he knew what it was and how it worked. Except...he didn't know how to work this tub, but he desperately needed to feel some water on his burning hot, sweaty body, so he got into it and fiddled with the metal things on the side until it began filling with water. The cool liquid on his hot fur was the most refreshing, pleasant thing he had ever experienced, and it relaxed him so much that by the time he got out, he could hardly remember the terror he had felt when he first woke up.

He was just drying himself off with the towel-for the first time, since the zookeepers had always done that-when he heard a knock at the door. Abandoning the towel, Aussie headed over to the door and, after spending half a minute trying to figure out how to unlock it, opened it.

Just as he'd expected, Perry was standing on the other side, smiling at him. "Good morning, Aussie. Sleep well?"

"Mostly," Aussie replied, somewhat honestly. "What are we doing today?"

"I thought we could take it a bit easier today," said Perry. "Breakfast first, then maybe a bit of swimming training."

Aussie immediately perked up. "Swimming?!"

Perry laughed. "Yes. We've got a great pool that you can practise in, and it shouldn't be too busy today. Are you used to chlorine?"

Aussie cocked his head. "What's that?"

"It's a chemical that goes into swimming pools. It's not harmful normally, but I'd rather not take any chances if you're not used to it. Have you ever swum in anything that's not the pool in your exhibit?"

"Hmm…" Aussie thought for a while. "I broke my leg once and the keeper took me to a private pool every day to help me recover."

"That pool probably had chlorine in it so I bet you'll be safe." Perry nodded. "Right. Ready for breakfast?"

Aussie wasn't terribly hungry, but he did want to see Nyx again, so he nodded. He fetched his key and tucked it into his pocket, exiting the room. "Do I have to lock the door?"

"No, it'll lock automatically behind you," replied Perry. "Let's go."

…

Nyx wasn't at breakfast when the two platypuses got there, nor did she arrive when they got their food. A disappointed Aussie ate his sandwich in silence, unsure of what to think. Was Nyx just late? Had she overslept? Or did she just not want to see Aussie?

Just as Aussie was finishing his sandwich, the door flew open, and Nyx rushed into the room. She skidded to a halt beside Aussie's table, panting hard. "So...sorry," she gasped out. "Got...held...up…"

Aussie blinked.

"They've stopped serving," Perry said apologetically. "You'll have to wait until lunch now."

"Darn," muttered Nyx.

After a moment, Aussie slowly reached out and offered Nyx the last piece of his sandwich. The porcupine laughed softly and shook her head. "That's really sweet of you, but I'll just wait 'til lunch."

Still not saying anything, Aussie shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, causing Nyx to laugh again. This pleased Aussie; he liked making Nyx laugh.

"We're going to the pool," Aussie said, after he had swallowed. "Swimming training. Do you want to come?"

For a moment, Aussie could have sworn he saw a flash of fear on Nyx's face, but it was gone before he could register it properly. "Sure, I'd love to come," she said warmly.

Her voice was normal, so Aussie assumed he'd been seeing things.

"Let's head up there now," Perry said, getting off his chair.

But just as Aussie stood up, there came a small beeping noise. Perry groaned, before bending down to check a small metal device attached to the outside of his fur pocket. "I have to go," he sighed. "Nyx, can you take Aussie?"

"Of course." Nyx smiled. "Good luck."

Aussie watched in surprise as Perry hurried off. "Where's he going?"

Nyx shrugged, then took Aussie's arm and began leading him out of the room. As the platypus and the porcupine made their way down the hallway, the former asked, "What was that thing Perry had?"

"Oh, that's a pager," replied Nyx, lifting up her fur to reveal that she had one of the devices of her own. "All agents have them. It's a quick and easy way for Major Monogram or Carl to reach one of us if they need to. They probably called Perry out on an important mission, judging by how quickly and suddenly he left."

"Will I get one?" Aussie asked.

"When you're an agent, yeah you will." Nyx pushed open a pair of double doors to reveal a large, warm room that held a bright blue swimming pool in the centre. The smell of what was most likely chlorine hit Aussie immediately. "Welcome to the pool."

There was nobody else in the room, so the two got to the side of the pool with no trouble. Aussie stared down into the water, which looked a lot different from his bath this morning.

"I'll go in first," Nyx offered, sensing Aussie's nerves. "If you want."

Aussie nodded wordlessly, so she lowered herself into the pool, then began to swim. Aussie watched her, fascinated. She wasn't semi-aquatic like him, but her technique was very graceful. And she was making good time.

But as she got to the middle, Aussie noticed that she was slowing down. He took a step towards the pool, but as he did, there came a large splash, and Nyx disappeared underwater. Aussie gasped sharply, watching in horror as the porcupine flailed in the water, unable to touch the bottom.

"Nyx!" he yelled.

There was nobody else in the room. It would have to be him.

He bent his legs and dived into the pool.


	8. Chapter 8

The chlorine stung Aussie's fur at first, but he soon forgot about it next to his determination and fear for Nyx. Being semi-aquatic, he reached her very quickly and pulled her up to the surface, where she took in a sharp gasping breath, struggling madly in the platypus's arms.

"Nyx!" Aussie yelped, as the porcupine's quills came dangerously close to spiking his eyes.

As Aussie began towing Nyx towards the side of the pool, the porcupine, who was still thrashing around in the water, opened her mouth and sank her teeth into Aussie's forearm.

Aussie immediately let out a scream of pain. Thankfully, Nyx didn't keep her grip for very long. Whining in pain, Aussie reached the side of the pool and attempted to get out of the water. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to lift himself up without letting go of Nyx, and frankly, the platypus was scared of what the porcupine would do if she was released.

After a few seconds, Aussie felt two hands grab hold of his arms and begin pulling him out of the pool. He held onto Nyx tightly until both of them were out of the water, when he quickly let go of her and scrambled backwards to give her a bit of space.

He hesitantly inspected his forearm. The area around the bite mark was red and swollen, and rather painful. He winced and closed his eyes, his other paw clamped over his wound. _I hope that was just a reflex…_ He couldn't think of any reason why Nyx would want to bite him, especially when he was trying to save her, but just because he couldn't think of a reason, didn't mean there wasn't one.

"Are you okay?" came a familiar female voice.

Aussie opened his eyes and looked up at the silver rabbit in front of him. _It's Perry's friend!_ "Y-Yeah," he replied, managing a smile. "Thanks for helping out."

"You're welcome." Jackie the Rabbit smiled back, but that smile quickly disappeared. "I saw her bite you."

Before she could continue, Aussie hurriedly said, "Please don't report her! She was just scared, and I think there's a reason she reacted like that. I'm not angry at her and I don't want her to get in trouble for it."

Jackie nodded slowly. "Alright."

Glancing back over at Nyx, Aussie spotted a black and white panda sitting next to her, keeping her lying down.

"That's Peter the Panda," Jackie said, following his gaze. "Have you met him yet?"

Aussie wordlessly shook his head.

"He's been competing with Perry for the top spot on O.W.C.A.'s list for years. They're rivals, and neither of them really likes the other."

 _Great, so he's going to dislike me too because I look exactly like Perry,_ Aussie sighed in his head. Aloud, he called, "Is she okay?"

Peter glanced back over at him and nodded. "She'll be fine."

"Aussie?" Nyx called weakly, her head moving as she tried to find the platypus with her eyes.

Aussie crawled closer to her, stopping when he reached her. His eyes met hers, and she managed a feeble smile. "Thank you," she rasped.

The platypus smiled back and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay."

Nyx's eyes suddenly widened and she reached up with her paw, touching Aussie's injured forearm, causing him to give an involuntary wince. "I bit you?!"

"You were panicking," Aussie assured her. "Don't worry about it."

But Nyx ignored his last sentence and began struggling to sit up, despite Peter's and Aussie's attempts to keep her lying down. "Did I hurt you?!" she demanded worriedly.

"A-A little, but I'm fine, Nyx." Aussie took her paw and squeezed it. "What happened to you? You were fine at first."

The porcupine gave a shiver and stared down at the floor. "I… A traumatic memory came up, that's all."

"Traumatic how?" asked Aussie softly, spotting Peter and Jackie leaving out the corner of his eye.

After a brief hesitation, Nyx let out a long breath. "When I first arrived at O.W.C.A., a few other trainees used to pick on me because of my size. I never fought back because I was so afraid of being kicked out and having nowhere to go. One day, after one of our first swimming training sessions, they decided to see how long I could hold my breath underwater for. The strongest one held me under the water for so long that I actually blacked out and almost died. I was in the hospital for at least a month after that incident, and I nearly died a further three times through lung failure."

"Oh, Nyx…" whispered Aussie, utterly horrified.

"It took several weeks for my trainer to coax me back into the water" Nyx finished hollowly. "I passed swimming training, but after that, I never went back into the pool again."

"Nyx, you didn't have to come with me today," Aussie murmured. "You could have said no. I wouldn't have been offended."

"I…wanted to impress you," Nyx admitted, sighing. "I thought you wouldn't like me anymore if I didn't prove that I could swim."

"I would never stop liking you!" gasped Aussie, his eyes widening. "Especially not over something as silly as swimming!"

"Yeah, I guess it does sound a little silly now," Nyx chuckled. Aussie noticed for the first time that tears were sliding down her cheeks. "Aussie, I'm so sorry… When I felt you carrying me, all I could think about was that trainee holding me under the water and...I...I just instinctively fought back."

"Nyx, even if I was angry about it before, I'm not now," the platypus promised. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Th-Thank you, Aussie."

Aussie smiled, before bashfully leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. Nyx blushed and stared back down at the ground. "You said yesterday that you were finding it hard to grasp what Perry was teaching you, right?"

The platypus nodded. "Yes."

"How about we ditch the pool and head down to the gym for practise? Maybe I can explain it better. It's the least I can do after this."

A beam spread over Aussie's face and he nodded again. "Yes, please."

"First, though, we're going to Apollo to get that arm seen to," Nyx added firmly. "No arguments."

Aussie closed his mouth and nodded for a third time.

"Good." Nyx smiled.


End file.
